The Adult Education Centre’s programme for the Nekala Cultural Centre's opening week published – wheel-throwing demonstrations and clay workshops

During the Nekala Cultural Centre Opening Week, The Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region will host a Nekala-themed non-stop clay workshop on Thursday 12 March 2026 from 3–6 pm and on Saturday 14 March 2026 from 11 am–3 pm. Participants are invited to create clay tiles inspired by the area’s atmosphere, landscapes, memories and stories. The finished tiles will be fired and assembled by The Adult Education Centre into a collaborative artwork celebrating Nekala and its diverse residents.

In addition, visitors can attend pottery wheel-throwing demonstrations on Saturday 14 March from 11–11:30 am and 2:30–3 pm. The demonstrations offer an opportunity to follow a professional ceramicist at work and to familiarise themselves with the ceramics facilities and tools.

The Opening Week programme will take place at the Nekala Cultural Centre Nekalab, in the ceramics facilities of the Adult Education Centre.

Teaching at the Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region in Nekalab will begin in full in the autumn. The metalworking facilities in Onkiniemi will be phased out, and from the next academic year onwards, blacksmithing courses will be held in the new metal workshop at Nekalab. Ceramics courses will start gradually in late spring, with a wider range of courses available from the autumn. In addition to Nekalab, the Sampola ceramics studio will continue to be used by the Adult Education Centre.

According to Oona Rosenlund, assistant principal responsible for the development of the Adult Education Centre’s facilities, the new teaching spaces in Nekala represent an important regional expansion and a significant step forward for arts and crafts education.

– We are able to respond to students’ wishes and offer more long-awaited ceramics courses. The Adult Education Centre’s campus is expanding, allowing us to reach residents in a new part of the city. We also benefit from the centralised location of the metalworking and ceramics facilities, as teachers and students are able to meet and see each other, Rosenlund says.